Saudi Arabia Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Saudi Arabia Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Saudi Arabia and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Etymology: Named after the ruling dynasty of the country, the House of Saud. The name "Arabia" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as "Ar Rabi".

Capital: Riyadh.

Independence / foundation: Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by Abd Al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula.

Population: 36 million.

Currency: Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR)
1 USD = 3.75 SAR
1 EUR = 4.08 SAR

Time zone: UTC+3

Languages spoken: Arabic (official).

Religions: Muslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-12% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh).

Climate: Harsh climate with dry desert conditions and great temperature extremes.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $1.8 trillion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $50,200.

Main airports: King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Khaled International Airport, King Fahd International Airport.

World heritage sites in Saudi Arabia

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 7.

Top world heritage sites:

- At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah.
- Hegra Archaeological Site.
- Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah.
- Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia.
- Al-Ahsa Oasis, an Evolving Cultural Landscape.
- Ḥimā Cultural Area.
- ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid.

Interesting facts about Saudi Arabia

- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formally declared in 1932 when Ibn Saud proclaimed himself as King Abdulaziz. The Al Saud dynasty has ruled ever since and holds a monopoly of political power.

- Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of the second-largest religion in the world, Islam. The two holiest shrines of Islam are in Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Medina. Mecca is the holiest of Muslim cities where Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in around 570 AD. Mecca hosts one of the world’s largest annual gatherings. Every year, over 2 million Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca

- Saudi Arabia is building the tallest skyscraper on the planet. When complete, Jeddah Tower will be 1,000 meters high.

- Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy. It owns 16% of the world's proven petroleum reserves and ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum. The petroleum sector accounts for 42% of its GDP.

Further reading: N/A.

---

Saudi Arabia Travel tips

More about Saudi Arabia on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

---

Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️